A hit: Ten is not keen to move the Big Bash after a successful first season. Photo: Getty Images

The BBL's position on the cricket calendar - in the heart of the Australian summer and school holidays period - is where Cricket Australia believe it is most attractive but its elevation has come at the expense of the Sheffield Shield and Ryobi Cup.

The players' union, the Australian Cricketers' Association, has lodged with CA a series of recommendations for change in a document compiled last year that they have called their "state of the game" report.

Central to the report is scheduling and the impact of the BBL on the other competitions.

It is understood the players believe it is too long and in the wrong place on the calendar, and have recommended that in the long term the tournament be shifted to the start of the season in October and run for the length of that month - four-and-a-half weeks - not seven weeks as is the case now.

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The Shield, compressed this season into six back-to-back matches before Christmas and then the remaining four after a seven-week hiatus during the BBL, would be more evenly spaced out under the ACA's recommendations.

And the Ryobi Cup, turned into a carnival-style stand alone event in Sydney at the start of season where states played only six matches each, would also be extended to at least eight games per team.

The chances of the BBL being shifted to October by next season are minimal as plans are already in place for it to be retained in the December-January period, and the ACA is understood to have made short-term recommendations as well that take that into account.

While there are obvious commercial arguments against moving the tournament forward two months, the players believe it could be a success then, too. There is a notable space on the sports scene at that time of the year just after the winter football codes have wrapped up finals. The line of thinking is that cricket could own October with the BBL.

The Shield's slide on the priority list was rammed home last week when Australia's 15-man squad for the Test tour of South Africa was announced. Despite an average of 61 in the Shield this season Phillip Hughes missed a seat on the plane as selectors opted for Shaun Marsh, who is not even in the top 30 runs scorers in four-day cricket this year but has done well for Australia's one-day team this month.

The players, however, face a challenge convincing not only CA but Ten of the merits of moving the BBL. Ten, which has a deal worth $100 million in cash and contra to broadcast the BBL for this season and the next four, keen to retain the T20 event's place on the schedule.

"We're pretty happy with where [the BBL] is now," Ten head of sport David Barham said. "It's only our first year, and it's gone really well, but I think you have to have consistency to build these things as well, and by having it at the same time every year it can help build popularity with regular crowds on television and at the grounds.

"A lot of young cricketers have had a lot of profile this year they would never have had. To be playing in that arena and have Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Viv Richards talking about you from the commentary box is a great opportunity."

The BBL's third season boasts average crowds of 20,355, before Monday night's match, and an average national television audience of 935,000.

The ACA declined to go into the details of their report except to confirm that it had been lodged with CA. A spokesman for CA said they would not comment while the report and the schedule was being reviewed.